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Nothing above, just the roof. No vents.

Solid wooden CB

I put fleece in old pillowcases last winter and it was absolutely soaked when I took it out in Spring. Not impressed.

Just wondering if as said, freezing kills wax moth - I store kit in an unheated caravan, or stacked in the apiary. Surely over winter the freezing weather would do the same job as a chest freezer?

I can sympathise. No matter how small the item I want to order from Thornes I pay £20 in postage. Absolutely ridiculous and they won't send through the royal mail. Anyway they have had sales in the past of seconds or thirds. I wouldn't recommend it for crates because a lot of the wood is...

Similar here one summer. Massive swarm, easily shook and marching in as you say. Then out. Out, in. Then out a day later. Because, I think, stupid here had an eke on made from teak scraps. Naturally " insect repellent". I wasn't long at beekeeping as you can see, grossly underestimated the...

No it hasn't been a problem. I'm shopping for queens to book for next year though. Or would you recommend waiting and seeing what brood pattern emerges in the Spring?

Tagging onto an old thread for opinions. Due to 2 bereavements this year necessitating many extended trips, I wasn't able to look after the hives as well as I would wish. Of 2 that swarmed, they requeened and there was BIAS at one point. Both on brood and a half. Now they are declining, egg...

Never thought of adopting them - have you been in touch with your local society? There's likely someone up for the challenge to take them and re-queen.

Thanks I think I'll take the boards out. They're always pretty grotty and moldy looking.

Do they propolise the mesh over time?

Are you saying that the open mesh floor should be open all year? Seems like that would create a massive draft even with the roof vents etc closed.

Thought OP said he had hives elsewhere my mistake.

Mine also absolutely glue everything together. I've tried reversing the brood super 90 degrees on a few hives to see if that helps stop frame to frame bridging. Earlier in the year I had to split some broods and a halves. I found that by using an old metal queen excluder and slowly sliding it...

Why is no one saying shake out at a distance? At least the workers will find new homes in your other hives and will settle down. I can't see the point and destroying everything. I had the same last month. Was going to shake out but decided to wait and try again. A hive going ballistic, almost...

I certainly hope that's what is happening here. 5 hives and nearly no brood 😱. A few have a bit of larvae and capped, but not an egg to be seen (thru fogged up glasses thanks to the heat). One has drones just hatching and nothing else in the pipeline. Most have plenty stores in the half brood...

I might need to shake one out next spring. Still assessing temperament. The weather is so constantly foul up here, it's become impossible to do inspections without heavy clouds and some degree of rain appearing. Even on a sunny day. Clobber on, hive tool out, then a downpour. Really p*sses me...

Thanks, I think I'll take the supers off in a few weeks and maq them all.

Can I get clarification on brood breaks please. I had 3 hives swarm in June ( travel for family issues prevented dealing with them) and all brood frames were completely empty for a few weeks. All queens mated and hives have built up well now with good stores. Does the absence of brood get rid...

Checks done yesterday and all good here. One was ready for a 2nd super, stowed out to the edges 😱. The rest had some worked/ nectar/capped and some undrawn foundation. I'm brood 1.5 so its reassuring to see capped stores to the edges in the "half". Still no idea where they are. The nectar and...